Concrete block-out-grout tube with drain

ABSTRACT

An elongated cylindrical tube with reinforcing ribs that can be placed within a pre-cast concrete wall section for use in joining with other wall sections having a drain preformed into the bottom of the grout tube with a nipple-like attachment positioned within the drain opening of the grout tube. The nipple-like attachment has circumferential pyramidal ridges for connecting to and retaining a water release tube allowing for the egress of any water, moisture or debris that may have collected within the grout tube to prevent deterioration or cracking of the concrete from the expansion of water freezing within the wall section or from retained debris weakening the wall connection joint.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to connection devices forjoining together pre-cast concrete members such as panels or columnsstacked one on top of the other to form building walls. The connectiondevices employ an elongated cylindrical grout tube with reinforcing ribscast into the top of a lower concrete member with a opening in thebottom for draining collected water and debris and a tube attached tothe lower end of the grout tube for carrying the water and debris out ofthe concrete member. The elongated cylindrical grout tube hasreinforcing ribs to retain the tube in position in the pre-cast concretemember and to provide added strength to the grout as it hardens toprovide strength to the formed concrete wall. The lower end of the grouttube has an integrated nipple-type attachment means, which is preformedinto the grout tube, to which a hollow tube is attached that extendsoutward to a surface of the pre-cast concrete wall member.

The elongated cylindrical grout tube may be referred to or known as aconcrete block-out tube that is mounted on a framing member in the formused to cast the wall panel, oriented inwardly in the center of the topwall of the panel with the nipple at the inward most point and the draintube extending away to the closest side or bottom edge of the panel.After pouring of the concrete panel and the setting of the concrete, theforms are removed and the open ends of the tubes are sealed or taped, oralternatively a plug is driven into each tube. The tape and plug sealsused to close the tube sections can be ineffective in extremeenvironmental changes and frequently allow water, moisture and dirt tocollect in the tubes prior to the erection of the panels. If the waterretained in the tube freezes, there is a risk the resultant expansionwill crack and ruin the panel. Any debris collected within the tube willdegrade the quality of the connection formed by the mortar when thepanels are erected.

The present invention is an improvement to the concrete block-out tubeapparatus used previously to connect upper and lower concrete wallsections as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,076,924[Thompson]. The Thompsonpatent discloses a reinforced, ovalized block-out tube cast into the topof a lower concrete member to mate with a structural rod cast into thebottom of an upper concrete member. While this device provides for thedimensional variants of the rod and receiving tube, creating therequired structural strength, it does not completely prevent the entryof water, moisture or debris that can collect at the bottom of the grouttube and cause cracking or gaps in the grout holding the rod in a fixedposition resulting in a potential failure of the wall integrity.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide apre-cast concrete block-out tube for use in joining pre-cast verticalconcrete panels that continues to provide structural strength, withoutintroducing stress concentrations into the poured concrete or grout, andallows for the release of any water, moisture or debris that may collectin the tube that could degrade the quality of the grout connectioninside the tube.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an integratedconnection or attachment point at the lowest internal space of the grouttube for the connection of a drain line or tube to allow for the instantremoval of water or debris without any substantial retention of the samewithin the grout tube for any extended period of time.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages inherent in the typesof devices previously known and used for the joining of pre-castconcrete panels. It should also be understood that the present inventionmay be used to join columns and other types of pre-cast concretemembers.

The present invention comprises an elongated cylindrical tube withreinforcing ribs that retain the grout tube in position within thepre-cast concrete wall member and act to retain and hold the grout-likehardening substance within the tube to add strength to the constructedwall. The bottom end of the cylindrical tube has a nipple-typeattachment means, which may be preformed into the grout tube forconnecting the cylindrical grout tube to a water release tube or drainline. The nipple has circumferential flange ridges that make for atighter seal to the drain line or tube and keep out moisture and debrisfrom the connection to the water release tube, allowing for the egressof any water or moisture that may exist within the wall-grout tube.

The tube of the present invention is intended to be cast vertically intothe top side of a concrete panel with the elongated body and nippleembedded inwardly into the panel and the drain line connected to thelowest point of the tube and extending outward to the closest exteriorsurface of the panel. Once the concrete has set, the reinforcing ribskeep the tube in place and secure from rotating in the concrete panel.Additionally, the reinforcing ribs arrayed along the length of the tuberesist removal once set and provide against the inadvertent pullout ofthe structural rod once the grout has hardened.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in thedrawings forms which are presently preferred; it being understood,however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangementsand instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the concrete block-out grout tube withintegrated bottom drain connected to the retained water release tube.

FIG. 2 is a cut-away view of a pre-formed concrete wall section showingthe concrete block-out grout tube and integrated retained water releasetube of the present invention positioned within the pre-formed concretewall section.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplatedmode of carrying out the invention. The description is not intended in alimiting sense, and is made solely for the purpose of illustrating thegeneral principles of the invention. The various features and advantagesof the present invention may be more readily understood with referenceto the following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, where like numerals refer tolike parts or elements, there is shown in FIG. 1 an isometric view ofthe elongated concrete block-out grout tube 10 with an integrated bottomdrain 12. At the top or proximal end of the grout tube 10 there is aflange 14 that permits the tube 10 to fit flush with the top surface ofthe pre-cast concrete wall member. The concrete block-out grout tube 10is formed with a plurality of reinforcing ribs 16 which structurallyanchor the tube 10 within the concrete wall member and prevent the tubefrom rotating within its position in the wall member. The reinforcingribs 16 also act to hold the grout-like hardening substance in positionso that the grout will not easily move inward or outward from the grouttube 10 so as to provide sufficient resistance against the movement orremoval of the structural rod once the grout has hardened.

Integrated into the bottom wall of the concrete block-out grout tube 10is a drain 12. The drain 12 has a nipple-type attachment means 18 whichmay be inserted into the drain 12 by any means, for example, pressfitting. Alternatively, the nipple-type attachment means 18 may beintegrated into the grout tube 10 when formed or molded. The nippleattachment means 18 has a plurality of circumferential conical ridges 20that extend outward from the drain 12. Each of the conical ridges 20 isaxially aligned with the next and has a larger base dimension so that incross-section the series of ridges 20 appear to be a stacked array ofparallelograms with their respective greater dimension bases facinginward toward the drain 12. In this manner, the drain tube 22, slipsover the ridges 20 easily, but is retained on and over the ridges 20 asthe ridges grasp the inner surface of the slightly expanded tube by therespective circumferential lips of the ridges holding the drain tube 22in position over the nipple attachment means 18. The drain tube 22 canbe of any material that has the properties and characteristics forrefraining from breaking down while encased in concrete mixtures andlongevity in adverse temperature environments.

Looking now at FIG. 2, the concrete block-out grout tube 10 andintegrated drain 12 with nipple attachment means 18 and attachedretained water release tube 22 are shown positioned within a pre-castconcrete wall section 24. The grout tube 10 is positioned at the topsurface of the concrete wall member 24 with its flange 14 flush with theouter surface. The water release or drain tube 22 is fully extended awayfrom the drain 12 and nipple attachment means 18 with its distal endextending to and through a lower wall surface at drain point 26 of theconcrete wall member 24. The nipple attachment means 18 withcircumferential pyramidal ridges 20 for connecting to and retaining awater release tube provides a tight seal as it connects to the waterrelease tube 22 permitting for the egress of any water or moisture thatmay have collected within the concrete block-out grout tube 10 to exitby force of gravity.

Thus, even though water, moisture or debris may collect within theconcrete block-out tube while it awaits assembly into a buildingstructure, or otherwise, such water and/or debris can be flushed ordrained away through the drain 12 and drain tube 22 so that theintegrity of the connection between one wall section and another can bemaintained. Further, with a substantially dry and debris free tubebottom, there is less possibility of a freeze/thaw series weakening theconcrete and causing a failure of the wall section 24.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and,accordingly, the described embodiments are to be considered in allrespects as being illustrative and not restrictive, with the scope ofthe invention being indicated by the appended claims, rather than theforegoing detailed description, as indicating the scope of the inventionas well as all modifications which may fall within a range ofequivalency which are also intended to be embraced therein.

1. An elongated cylindrical tube member for use as a connectionassisting device for joining pre-cast concrete panels or forms, saidtube member comprising an integral elongate, imperforate, and hollowtubular body having a plurality of reinforcing ribs formed into thetubular body with a drain opening in the distal end of the tubular bodyfor connecting to an elongate drain tube attached to the drain opening,said elongate drain tube extending away from the cylindrical tube membertoward an exterior surface of the concrete panel or form.
 2. Theelongated cylindrical tube of claim 1, wherein the plurality reinforcingribs structurally anchor said tube within the concrete wall member andprevent the tube from rotating within and pulling out of its position inthe concrete wall member, and further act to hold the grout-likehardening substance in position so that the grout will not easily moveinward or outward from said tube.
 3. The elongated cylindrical tube ofclaim 1, further comprising a nipple-like attachment means fitted intothe drain opening for retaining said elongate drain tube in positionagainst the drain opening.
 4. The elongated cylindrical tube of claim 3,wherein the nipple-like attachment means comprises a series ofcircumferential pyramidal ridges for retaining the elongate drain tubeonto the nipple-like attachment means.
 5. The elongated cylindrical tubeof claim 4, wherein the drain opening with fitted nipple-like attachmentmeans connecting the elongate drain tube to the drain opening allows forthe egress or flushing away of any water or debris that may havecollected within the tube.
 6. The elongated cylindrical tube of claim 1,wherein said drain opening includes a nipple-like attachment meansintegrally formed into the drain opening for retaining said elongatedrain tube in position against the drain opening.
 7. The elongatedcylindrical tube of claim 6, wherein the nipple-like attachment meanscomprises a series of circumferential pyramidal ridges for retaining theelongate drain tube onto the nipple-like attachment means.
 8. Theelongated cylindrical tube of claim 7, wherein the drain opening withnipple-like attachment means connecting the elongate drain tube to thedrain opening allows for the egress or flushing away of any water ordebris that may have collected within the tube.